After a near-sleepless night, he needed something to keep his eyes open. Coffee every morning hardly counted, and it was such an inefficient manner of keeping oneself awake. Gerald searched through the medicine cabinet. He swiped his finger across the screen, waiting for the display to load the available drugs. Looked like he still had enough credits to purchase a psychostimulant. Not one of those dangerous street varieties that would throw him into a homicidal rage. Thankfully, he and Deanna held good jobs. They had access to top-of-the-line medications without an appointment. In fact, he hadn’t seen a doctor in person in years now. He picked out a longer-acting drug that wouldn’t give him such a crash after. He still had to take care of Kyle. The glass screen slid open and dispensed a single sealed tablet. Gerald swallowed the pill with a sip of coffee and felt the weight of insomnia lift from his shoulders.
“…anniversary of the twentieth, and final, GeneHome mission to Mars,” the news announcer said. The images flashed about on the wall, projecting straight ahead from Gerald like a screen. “Two decades and we still haven’t received any concrete evidence to explain the mysterious disappearance of the entire colony and the planet itself….”
“Dad, what’s GeneHome?”
“Not now, Kyle. I’m trying to pay attention. Why don’t you go back to your room?”
“Mom said not to go near any of the windows until the next Siren Alert.”
Gerald groaned. Of course, she did, he thought. Deanna, you’re too damn cautious. No one’s going to attack us. Then again, he wasn’t suffering from insomnia without reason. The world was not a good place these days. Everyone thought that at some point in their lifetime, but things were truly bad right now. At least, that’s what Deanna kept telling him. If anything, he was more restless from not being able to go into work. They told him it was better to stay at home. Gerald was old-fashioned; he was of the minority who actually enjoyed going into work each day rather than doing it all remotely through holograms and TeleSight. “Fine, stay in here. I’ll explain GeneHome at the commercial. Just give me a minute of silence.”
“Can’t you just pause it, then come back to it?”
Gerald rolled his eyes. “Did you know when my grandparents were your age, they couldn’t pause live TeleSight? Besides, they could give us an update on the Siren Alert. We could have to evacuate at any minute.” Not that he really believed that. Damn, Deanna’s paranoia is getting to me. This stimulant has me a bit jumpier, too.
“….and one common theory posits that the GeneHome terraformists attempted to move the planet into the famous Goldilocks’ Zone and, in doing so, they accidentally pushed Mars out of its natural orbit and caused it to reach an escape velocity that sent it into deep space. Astrophysicists have since dismissed this theory, stating it’s impossible for any amount of artificial energy to allow something as large as a planet to escape the sun’s gravitational pull. That said, they do admit that there was a tremendous radioactive ‘footprint’ left in the planet’s place. Astronauts are still examining the radioactive dust cloud—commonly referred to as the Æther—but have had difficulty doing so without space travel, which was internationally banned after the disappearance of Mars and the GeneHome colonists…”
Gerald took another sip of his coffee and swallowed his breakfast capsule. Grandpa said they used to have real meals for breakfast, too. Who had time for that? The pill descended his esophagus and dropped into his acidic stomach, where the gel-based capsule disintegrated, and the meal exploded. He belched and tasted eggs and French toast. “Mmm. Haven’t had that one in a while. Kyle, you have breakfast yet?”
“It’s almost noon, Dad! I had my pill this morning after Mom left for work. Do you ever pay attention?” Almost noon and yet the boy looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. With his messed up black hair and devilish grin, he looked like a feral child. God love him for that.
Gerald snorted and waved off his son. At ten years old, the boy was too much like his mother. Always trying to say something to bother him, to get on his nerves. Frankly, it was growing old, but Gerald never saw any reason to make an issue of it. It’s how they are. Wouldn’t change 'em for anything. He grinned at his son before turning back to the TeleSight. He increased his internal volume by tapping his right mastoid process five times. Loud enough to concentrate, but not too loud to drown the boy out if he gets into trouble.
“Thanks for the story, Cyan,” the anchor said as the screen moved away from the dark, bright-eyed woman reporting about GeneHome. “Hello again, folks, and welcome to Station Twenty-Three News. I’m your host, Arnold Mapgar, coming to you live outside of downtown Bismark. It’s currently 11:47 AM-CST, and I have a Siren Alert update for all you viewers at home. The roads will be re-opened at noon for necessary transportation only and will close at curfew, which has been extended to 9:00 PM-CST. Please be advised that this may be the only time you will be able to purchase NutraPills, water, and any fuel—if you can afford it.”
Gerald clapped his hands together, standing from his seat at the kitchen table and cheering. “Finally! Hear that, Kyle? We don’t need to be cooped up in here anymore! Why don’t you get changed so we can go to the market?”
“But, Dad! Mom said not to go to any rooms with windows while the Siren Alert is still up. Didn’t the TeleSight say it wouldn’t be lifted until noon?”
“That’s just so people have time to get to the market before it opens. Nothing will change in thirteen minutes. Go get dressed, and I’ll call your mother.”
Kyle grimaced and tiptoed to his room as if walking too loudly would alert his mother that he was going to his room while the alert was still in effect.
Gerald pressed behind his ear again, this time moving the volume to zero. He placed the subtitles on in his contact lenses, just in case anything important came up on the news while on the call. Gerald placed his thumb onto the table’s center console, and a blue light flashed underneath as it scanned his finger. The white and yellow hologram display appeared before him. It showed a notebook filled with names and contact codes. He placed his hand over the first one and spoke the command. “Deanna, 93070. From Gerald, 51196.” The table vibrated, and the lighted display vanished. The table’s camera opened its lens and pointed it at Gerald’s face.
A new hologram appeared, this time in full color. “Gerald, what is it? Is everything okay? Where’s Kyle? I don’t see him with you.”
“Calm down, Deanna. Everything is fine. He’s in his room getting changed—the Siren Alert got lifted. We’re going out to get some capsules and maybe even some food.”
Deanna frowned. “I saw that the Alert for home was lifted for noon. Unless I’ve got my math wrong, it’s only 11:49 back home. He shouldn’t be in his room.”
“Dee, nothing is going to change in eleven minutes. They just announced that it was lifted. He’ll be fine around the windows for a few minutes. Besides, who would attack us here? We don’t live by any major cities, bases, or resources. We’re not the ones in danger.” He spoke his last words with a hint of contempt.
Deanna’s black eyebrows twisted into a nasty glare. “You know I’d rather be home. The president, prime minister, and overseer are all at extreme odds right now. Tensions are high.” She looked to both sides, examining her surroundings. Then she whispered, “The Doomsday Clock is at 30 seconds. It’s never been this close before, Gerald. So, believe me, anything can change in a few minutes.”
This time Gerald’s eyebrows twisted. The clock had always been something of a metaphor since its inception in the latter half of the 20th century. It got very close about a hundred-forty years ago. Some changes in climate policies and war pulled it back a bit at the next turn of the century, but ever since then, it had been inching closer. Many politicians took it seriously these days.
“Are you serious? Dee, you need to get out of D.C. now! You know that’ll be the Republic’s first target!”
“Who says I’m in D.C.? Sorry, Gerry, but my location is classified information. Look, I’m not saying anything bad will happen—I’m just saying that it can. Just please keep Kyle out of his room until the Siren Alert is officially lifted. Keep your ears on for any other updates, too. Things are unstable and could change at any minute.”
Gerald sighed. “Yes, Deanna. Fine. I’ll call you again when we’re leaving.”
She smiled her same beautiful smile. The same one he fell in love with. The same one that made him forget all her nagging and prodding. The same one he missed all the lonely nights without her. “Thanks, Gerald. Talk to you soon. Love you.”
“You too.”
The hologram flickered and turned off. Gerald’s contacts dilated his pupils, letting him see better in the dim room. He had had the contacts for nearly a decade but still couldn’t shake the unnatural feeling they did to eyes after a holo-call. It reminded him of the days before the war, when he didn’t need to worry about conserving electricity for something as simple as light. The War on Energy, he thought, shaking his head.
“Kyle, are you changed yet? Mom wants you out of the room. Looks like you were right. Again.”
Kyle ran back into the kitchen, dressed in black shorts and a green T-shirt. “Ha! Told you! When is Mom coming home?”
“Probably not for a while. Work is busy.” He shifted his gaze to the TeleSight, then back to his son. “Are you really wearing that? Sun’s pretty bad this time of year. You need long sleeves to cover your skin.”
“What? Why? It’s so hot out!”
“That’s the sun thanking GeneHome for breaking the ozone layer. It’s the same thing that’ll cause you to burn. Go back to your room and get something else.”
“But you said I wasn’t supposed to be in my room.”
“Kyle, I’m the parent, aren’t I?” Sometimes Gerald had to ask himself that, too. His son seemed to boss him around almost as much as Deanna. He wasn’t tough enough on the kid. Always too soft and permissive.
Kyle groaned and stormed back to his room, muttering something incomprehensible to himself. He returned a moment later with a blue button-down and some gray jeans. “Mr. Robier says the ozone was a problem from over a hundred years ago. Didn’t the TeleSight say GeneHome was twenty years ago? What is GeneHome anyway? You still haven’t told me!”
Gerald shook his head and laughed. “Are you sure you’re only ten? Damn, kid, you ask a lot of questions.”
Kyle’s eyes widened, and his jaw lowered.
“What?” Gerald asked.
“Mom says not to say words like that.”
“Like what? ‘Damn’? Right, sorry about that. Guess I treated you too old there. Anyway, GeneHome… It’s sort of a joke that adults make for anything that’s messed up. Flat tire? Oops, must be GeneHome’s fault. Spoiled milk? GeneHome did it. Lose a planet? GeneHome is at it again!” Gerald laughed heartily, but Kyle simply stared at him blankly, not understanding. “Sorry, like I said, it’s adult humor. No one knows much about them. Technically, they started ninety-five years ago, but then they just disappeared twenty years ago. From what I hear, though, they were a bunch of mad scientists trying to play God and make Mars the new home for humans. Anyone who ever worked at the company, which had sites all over the world, eventually went to Mars. There isn’t a single GeneHome employee left on Earth, and that makes figuring out what happened to them so much more difficult.”
“Why didn’t we go looking for them?” Kyle asked, tapping behind his ear to turn down the TeleSight’s volume.
“We wanted to, but the radiation levels at the Æther are so high that we have no way of ever getting anyone there and surviving. We can’t even send probes over because they just disintegrate as soon as they get there. The United Nations then banned all space travel, deeming it far too dangerous. That made a lot of people think they knew what caused it. Why ban all space travel if the problem is in one area?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Well, a lot of people think it’s not an isolated issue—that something is out there powerful enough to make an entire planet disappear.”
“You mean like aliens?” Kyle’s lower lip quivered.
“That’s what some people think. Not me. There’s no life out in the universe. We would have found it by now.” Gerald remembered when he first heard the theory about extraterrestrials obliterating Mars. He was only a few years older than Kyle when the conspiracies filled the media. The idea had terrified him. Simply the idea that man was not alone in the universe made Gerald’s brain do somersaults. When there suddenly became evidence that they may be real, his worldview had nearly shattered. He had questioned everything he had ever believed. Questioned God’s plan for His people. Questioned God’s very existence. Years had passed, and the Incident became a memory, a date in the history books. He founded religion again and came to peace with himself. But anytime something about GeneHome was on the news, he made sure to tune in. May 26th was a day he’d never forget. The Incident had affected him like nothing else ever had—not even the war. He had more nightmares about aliens than he did about his time on the battlefield.
Gerald smacked his palm against his face. He regretted saying anything about it to his son. Surely, the boy would have the same fears he had had. Better nip this in the bud before it goes anywhere. He sat at the table next to Kyle and put his arm around the boy’s shoulder. “There’s nothing to worry about, Son. There are no aliens out there. Whatever happened to the people at GeneHome was done by themselves. Any time humans face a problem, it’s generally their own fault.”
Kyle faced his father. “Was that supposed to be helpful?”
“It helps me!” Gerald said with a laugh. He looked at his watch and sighed. It was only 11:52. Deanna will have a fit if I leave before noon. “Come on, let’s see if there are any other updates on the news, huh?”
The two increased the volume behind their ears and adjusted the TeleSight with their contact lenses.
A commercial was being aired. It played a triumphant symphony in the background and showed the fifty-six stars of the United States overlaying a map of the country. The stars exploded into fireworks of red, white, and blue and fell to the bottom of the screen to form the words: Together We Are Strong! Together We Will Win! Join the Cause Today!
The fanfare continued for another minute or so. Gerald lost track of time as he recalled his days at war overseas. Russia, Korea, Europe… All of it. In his four years of service, he had seen it all. Carpet bombings. Gases and biologics. Energy weapons from old 20th-century films made a reality. His comrades running next to him one minute, their limbs spread out over fifty feet the next. He was drafted when he was twenty years old—far too young to be at war. Too young to make decisions about life and death….
“…received word that the Doomsday Clock is only 30 seconds before midnight, pushing it past the record high set back in the 2040s during the Second Cold War. Citizens are encouraged to stay in their homes at all times, even though the Siren Alert is to be lifted in five minutes. Citizens should also note that the Federal Militia is attempting to breach the old GeneHome facilities in the case of a nuclear emergency since they are believed to have stable fallout bunkers. We do not know at this time if there have been any new developments in opening the facilities since they have been sealed ever since the Incident. We will let you know as soon as we learn anything.”
The old GeneHome labs have fallout shelters? Does Deanna know that? Is that where she is? It must be if she’s with the president. Gerald turned down the TeleSight’s volume and pulled up his wife’s contact information once more on the holo-call. “Deanna, 93070. From Gerald, 51196.”
“Why are you calling Mom?” asked Kyle, with a worried expression on his face.
“Something they said on the news made me think of a question,” Gerald answered coldly. A gnawing feeling suddenly erupted in his stomach. Something simply didn’t seem right to him.
“Hello? Gerald, are you there?” Deanna’s voice called from the table’s holo-call speakers. There was no holographic image of her face. Instead, the lights kept switching colors as if they were trying to find the correct image to make but couldn’t decide what to show.
“Yeah, I am. Can’t you see me? I can’t see you,” Gerald answered.
“Sorry. We’re in an area of poor reception right now. It appears imaging won’t work here. What’s going on, is everything okay? Don’t tell me you’ve left yet. It’s still only five of.”
“Relax, Dee. We haven’t left yet. Listen, the news said something about the Feds trying to get into the old GeneHome labs for fallout shelters. Is that true? Should Kyle and I head for one?”
“Dad? What labs?”
“Not now, Kyle. I need to talk to your mother.” There was a pause on the other end. Gerald could hear chattering and yelling, all scrambled over the top of each other. “Deanna, are you there?”
“Yes, Gerald, I’m here. There’s a lot going on now, I only have a minute.”
“Dee, the labs. Should we go there?”
“No, I doubt they’ll send anyone near you to open them. You’re safer at the house. Don’t leave. Don’t run any errands. Just stay home, and if you hear the Siren, go to the basement. I assure you that’s much safer than trying to get to a lab.”
“But if they could get a lab open…” Gerald suddenly realized his hands were shaking. They hadn’t trembled this much since the first time he saw someone die in combat. “Would they be safer?”
“Theoretically, yes,” Deanna answered.
Gerald had spoken with his wife far too many times to misunderstand what she meant. “So, theoretically, are you safe?”
“Yes.” There was a long pause. “Theoretic—”
“Deanna? You still there? I think you’re cutting out.”
There was no response. The holo-call’s lights went out, and Gerald’s contacts dilated once more to the darkened room.
“Dad…” there was a tremble in Kyle’s voice. “Are you seeing this?” He pointed to the TeleSight screen across the room.
“Do not leave your homes. Do not attempt to drive or fly. This is not a drill. We have reason to believe that the United States, as well as multiple other countries, have been attacked. We cannot yet confirm who is behind these attacks, nor can we be sure of their nature. All we know is that we have lost contact with nearly all our agencies on the East and West Coast and are getting reports from across the globe that Europe may have also been attacked. Highlighted in red on the map are high probability target areas….”
“Dad, is Mom okay? Do you know where she was?”
Gerald’s hands continued to tremble. A knot filled his stomach, and he felt unsteady on his feet. “Your…your mother. She’s fine. I promise.” Theoretically.
“We have just received a live stream from a correspondent just outside of D.C.—William, are you there?”
“I’m here, Arnold,” said a voice, unseen on the screen.
“Thank you, William. We’ll stream the video now. Go ahead.”
The screen shifted a view from a neighborhood street just outside the city limits. It was pouring rain, and there were no lights to be seen from within the city. William held the camera in front of him and seemed to be running across the street as the image jostled up and down. He got to a black metal fence and dropped the camera over it. It fell to the ground and faced the rainy sky. Briefly, a man in a slick rain suit hovered over it, picking up the device and turning it back to the city.
“Okay,” William said, breathing heavily. “You can see the city pretty clearly from here. As you can see, all the lights are off. I think some kind of EMP went off and disabled all electronics within the city limits. There was a great big flash of light just before we lost contact, so that’s gotta be it.” He paused another moment. Gerald could hear him breathing fast and heavily behind the camera.
A finger moved in front of the camera. It pointed at something above the skyline. “It looks like there’s a news drone over the city. Is that one of yours, Arnold?”
The screen split in two, showing Arnold behind his table on the left and William’s video of D.C. on the right. “No, it’s not ours. We’ll see if it belongs to one of the other networks.”
There was a flash of light, and everything on William’s screen was white. All was quiet. Then there was a cloud of dust, expanding like a NutraPill in every direction. A sound harsher than the crinkling of metal against stone—like something grating against the skull and burrowing into the ear canal. It was a bubble of dust and debris that disintegrated everything in its path. The cloud was not satisfied with the city and continued to engulf its surroundings. It rushed toward William and his camera faster than he could turn to run away. Faster than the quarter of a second it would take him to react and realize what was happening, and much faster than it would take to do anything about it.
Gerald had seen a cloud like this once before, from far away on the battlefield. He knew that neither William nor D.C. would ever have time to react to anything ever again.
He looked at his watch and saw that the hands now pointed to 12 o’clock.
[P1]You only think to yourself, so redundant.
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